A New Generation of Learning Materials for Alberta

January 20, 2008

Working closely with our Paul First Nation partners, we’ve created the first in a large series of web-based learning programs for Alberta elementary students.

The first program to emerge – we call them “webstories” – is titled The Cousin Capers. In it, young Toronto resident Jonah visits his cousin, Kenzie, who lives on Alberta’s Paul First Nation Reserve, and notices some of the striking differences between his life in the big city and his cousin’s rural life on the Reserve.

The Cousin Capers targets Alberta Grade One students and their teachers. This beautifully illustrated and animated webstory features two versions – one incorporates spoken Cree, the other spoken Stoney, the two official Native languages at Paul First Nation.

The program also includes an online teacher’s guide, a teacher video featuring educational consultant Kristen Game, as well as several printable student assessment tools and activity sheets.

By the end of this first Grade One series, students will have covered off all the main elements of Alberta Education’s Grade One social studies curriculum – and perhaps even more importantly, Native students will have seen themselves in a positive and modern new light, while their non-Native peers will have gained a new understanding and respect for “life on the ‘Rez”!

Plans are afoot to adapt this series, working with the Kalispel Tribe in Washington State, and possibly the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho, for use in the USA.